Recently, there is an increased number of cosmetics promoting an excellent feel in usage with less stimulus to the skin and no stickiness, while exhibiting moisture, smoothness, and silkiness. Heretofore, cosmetics aiming to improve the feel in usage include a cosmetic comprising organic powder and alcohol (Patent Literature 1).
However, when a cosmetic thus obtained is stored for a long period of time, due to the sedimentation and agglomeration of the organic powder, it was necessary to re-distribute the organic powder before use. A method is proposed by which the sedimentation of organic powder is prevented by the combined use of a thickener to maintain the distributed state (Patent Literature 2). However, in such a method, because the thickener covers the circumference of the organic powder, silkiness is problematically reduced.
Furthermore, the organic powder used herein is a spherical general thermoplastic resin with less stimulus to the skin. Such organic powder has little compatibility with water; therefore, the organic powder tends to be undesirably detached without absorbing water content, such as sweat from the skin, after the cosmetic has been applied to the skin and dried, causing a problem in that the smooth effect does not last for a long time, etc.
In order to maintain the smooth effect, the use of porous, water-absorbable powder, such as corn starch, which easily absorbs water and is free from stickiness, is proposed (Patent Literature 3 and 4). However, even when such a powder is used, the applied powder is simply placed on the surface of the skin or hair (i.e., the object of the application); therefore, when the cosmetic is washed off with water, the powder peels off and the effect thereof is reduced. A cosmetic wherein a specific superabsorbent polymer is used as an organic powder is also suggested (Patent Literature 5). In this case, the amount of the water is suitably selected to formulate the cosmetic. The superabsorbent polymer used herein has an extremely high water absorption capability, and a large amount of gel-absorbed water adheres to the surface of the skin, hair, or the like. This makes it difficult to achieve a smooth feeling in use, and also causes problems in terms of durability.
Furthermore, a hair dressing composition, in which a specific polyalkylene oxide-modified product is used as a cosmetic, is also suggested (Patent Literature 6). However, the polyalkylene oxide-modified product washes off with sweat or the like; therefore, its effect cannot last long.